Science solving crimes in suburbs

LOPATCONG TWP. | One might say that Robert Sokoloski Jr.'s thirst got the best of him.

The proof of that was an empty bottle of soda with the Hog Hollow Bar-B-Que label; it was found near an abandoned safe that was stolen from the restaurant in 2005.

Now the case symbolizes how suburban police departments are getting more scientific on crimes such as burglary. DNA profiling is no longer limited to those big-city murders and rapes.

"One reason it's become such an important tool is that the (DNA) database has been built up over the years," Warren County Prosecutor Thomas S. Ferguson said.

Cracking the case

Acting on a hunch, township Detective Michael Patricia swabbed the soda bottle's neck for a DNA sample and submitted it to the New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Science DNA Laboratory.

No hits came back, and Patricia's investigation languished. Then he learned Sokoloski went to Easton to pawn items taken from the restaurant.

Sokoloski told the investigator he obtained the items from someone else.

"That was not enough for me to charge him," Patricia said. "The story he gave didn't put him at the scene."

But the detective did have a DNA profile from the state police lab. He convinced Sokoloski to provide a DNA sample. Patricia said he didn't tell Sokoloski about the profile taken from the bottles.

"I took a swabbing from him and sent that down to be profiled," Patricia said.

Patricia said he asked the lab to compare the DNA profile from Sokoloski with the soda bottle profile.

"It was an identical match," Patricia said.

A little dab will do you

The arrest of Sokoloski a year ago was followed by his conviction and sentencing. Without the DNA evidence, Patricia said, the case likely would have gone unsolved.

"And it's all from some saliva left on the soda bottles," Patricia said.

The detective said the opportunity to solve a case using DNA arises when evidence is developed from what he described as a "fresh case."

Only hours had passed between the burglary and the discovery of the bottles, Patricia said.

Ferguson said only certain cases lend themselves to DNA evidence. He also said if the suspect isn't in the system, the DNA evidence is of no immediate help.

As an example, he pointed to the unsolved murder of Washington resident John R. Stamets, 55. He died as a result of multiple stab wounds and blunt force head injuries inside his East Washington Avenue apartment in May.

The FBI assisted local officials in the investigation and combed through the murder scene looking for evidence. Ferguson said no DNA matches have materialized in that case.

"If we don't get any hits in that case, that probably means that whoever did it is not in the system," Ferguson said.

But Ferguson said a match could occur if the person later commits another crime and the DNA is added to a national database. Those convicted of fourth-degree crimes and up in New Jersey must submit a DNA sample.

Patricia's penchant for collecting DNA evidence paid off a second time under just the circumstances Ferguson described.

An arrest warrant was recently issued for Michael P. Fusco, 28, of Philadelphia.

Fusco allegedly used a fake credit card and Florida driver's license to rent a vehicle Sept. 17, 2005, from Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Lopatcong Township.

Patricia said he collected some DNA evidence from inside the stolen vehicle and submitted it to the database.

There were no hits at first, but then Fusco's DNA profile was taken in Philadelphia and put in the databank. Soon after, authorities discovered the DNA profile developed from Patricia's evidence matched Fusco's profile.

The Fusco case is pending, and Patricia declined to discuss the evidence he uncovered in the vehicle.

"We can close a lot of cases," Patricia said. "That's why you're getting closure on these cases in the inner cities."